According to the Indian Gaming and Regulatory Act (IGRA), Class II is defined as bingo and games similar to bingo and Class III is generally defined as casino-style gaming including games such as blackjack, poker, slot machines, craps, and roulette.
Computer networking technology has enabled Class II games to simulate many casino-style games including slot games by coordinating one or more multiplayer bingo games over a computer network to determine win and loss outcomes and map those outcomes to non-bingo displays.
As Native American gaming markets have developed, it has become common for a single gaming facility to offer a mix of Class II and Class III games.
In these mixed jurisdictions, there are advantages and disadvantages to both Class II and Class III gaming. Class III games have more diverse game libraries, but are taxed at a high rate relative to Class II games. Class II games may not be playable or may play at a slow rate if the number of active players on the network is low.
Mixed jurisdiction operators typically allocate a percentage of their available gaming space to Class II games and the remainder to Class III games. The balance between Class II and Class III is managed by the facility based on player traffic. Since Class II games require multiple players to play, the typical result is that Class II games receive less play than Class III games and only receive large amounts of play during high player traffic periods. To maximize earnings, it is desirable for facilities to maximize Class II game play. This balance between Class II and Class III is impossible to optimize manually.
One key to optimizing this balance is to encourage game play on Class II machines. Doing this requires innovative features and game formats. Since Class II gaming regulations require a multi-player bingo game to generate win and loss events, historically it has been difficult for game developers to implement skill-based games such as video poker while complying with accepted bingo rules.
In an attempt to address the need for video poker games in Class II markets, Weingardt et al. developed a unique bingo-based poker game called “Bingo Poker” based on a 52-spot bingo card and a 52-object bingo ball population (U.S. Pat. No. 8,752,838 and U.S Patent Application 20150119128). Using this combination, Weingardt et al. was able to create a bingo-based game that accurately models a traditional video poker game including the draw skill feature that is completely dependent on the bingo game's ball call. Unlike a traditional video poker game based on a 52-card deck and a fixed set of winning poker combinations, this bingo-based outcome generation system enables the implementation of large prizes tied to rare events that can occur because of the multiplayer nature of the bingo game. To increase excitement and provide players with previously unavailable and potentially life-changing jackpots on a video poker format, Weingardt et al. included far-miss jackpot prizes based on a player having very few or no spots marked on a pre-designated bingo pattern on their bingo card at the time the game is won by an opposing player.
The result is that one or more far-miss bingo prizes can be defined with multimillion dollar jackpot values. Although these far-miss bingo jackpots were originally designed as an integral component of the Bingo Poker game, one of the aspects of this invention is to attach this jackpot feature to games in addition to Bingo Poker.
The Dual Mode Progressive Bingo System (DMPB) described herein is designed to maximize earnings in conventional (land-based or floating) Class II and Class III gaming facilities and online gaming websites or combinations of Class II, Class III, and online gaming operations, both domestically and internationally—International regulations differ from country to country, e.g. in China, multi-player gaming is called C2C or Client 2 Client gaming. The DMPB maximizes earning potential by switching between Class II and Class III gaming rules on a play by play basis and encourages play on the system by enhancing the player's experience with a bingo-based progressive jackpot integrated into games on the DMPB system or that can be added as a separate plug-in module to virtually any base game regardless of classification.
The purpose of the Dual Mode Progressive Bingo System is to maximize earnings by maximizing the amount of time Class II games are operating on the gaming floor. The system accomplishes this by:                a. Encouraging players to choose DMPB gaming machines over non-DMPB gaming machines by offering a unique, bingo-based progressive that can be shared with games inside and outside of the facility, regardless of classification; and        b. Operating as a Class II game during periods of high player usage and as a Class III game during periods of inadequate player participation.        
The system consists of all of the components of a typical Class II electronic bingo system including bingo card distribution, a quorum building system, a ball call system, and database tables for recording game history and accounting information. In addition, the system includes a separate Class III database for recording activity that occurs when playing under Class III rules. Whether operating in Class II or Class III mode, the system uses a shared database for certain bingo functions and storing progressive information.